The modified Wolfen Gunship banked sharply, the laser bolts following it missing by a literal mile. The Corsairs chasing the white and gray craft adjusted their aim, sending a flurry of blasts at the sleek craft. One of the bolts connected with the shield, sparks burst from the impact point and dissipated.

He pulled back on his control stick. Puffs of ionized gas flared from the ship’s maneuvering thrusters, bringing the underslung slam cannon into alignment with the lead Corsair. The cannon spoke three times, belching tungsten-carbide slugs at near-relativistic speeds. The first slug tore into the smaller craft, ripping a large hole into its dorsal surfaces. The second slammed into the reactor, blasting it open. The third was redundant; the Corsair was reduced to a tiny debris field.

Tiny bits of metal sparked off of the Wolfen’s shields, but otherwise leaving them unharmed. The pilot rolled a scroll wheel with his thumb and selected the dual lasers, another scroll wheel clicked forward a notch and the KM500 missiles were armed.

“Eat this, bitch.”

The push of a button ejected one KM500 from the port weapons bay. The missile locked on and streaked towards its target. The wispy vapor trail ended in a yellow and red fireball as the missile’s warhead tore the flimsy craft apart. Laser blasts vaporized most of another Corsair, and the last was blown apart by a well aimed KM100.

The Charon outpost lay in Starton Eridani VI-a’s orbit, but it wouldn’t be for long. A salvo of missiles streaked from the Wolfen’s missile pods, piercing the station’s flimsy hull. Explosions threw debris into space, exposing decks to vacuum. The reactor gave out in a white-hot flash of energy. One of the station’s docking booms broke off and tumbled away.

The Gunship flipped over and burnt for CCS-Starton Eridani.

Last edited by BienM on Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

David Garrett climbed down from the modified Wolfen, his feet splashing in a puddle of coolant left behind by the E1500 that had been parked in the space his ship now occupied. He stepped out of the sticky puddle and wiped his feet on the deck plating. He walked out of the noisy bay and into the even noisier main concourse.

Got onto a tram headed for the commodity exchange; the run used up quite a few of his KM100s. He also wanted to try his luck at finding a targeting software ROM, he was wasting enough Stilettos being unable to prioritize tougher nuts. The tram slid to a halt and he disembarked. Garrett walked up to the scanners and had his credentials checked, then he walked to a vacant exchange terminal.

A screen flashed up at him as he placed his hands over the keypad. It read: Makayev Energia Space Systems, making a MESS of your enemies. Garrett snorted derisively; Makayev made good weapons, not good puns. He placed an order for 14 KM100s and a HUD upgrade ROM. He mentally cursed the person behind logistics, something as common as a system map or targeting software ROM should have been available by now. He turned around and headed for the bar.

The bar was dark, noisy, and smelly, but Garrett didn’t mind. It was lightyears better than the dance club on the other side of the concourse. But then, anything but a Sung camp was better than the Victorian, and Garrett wasn’t so sure about that. For all he knew, the slavers could be better. He ordered a vodka and contemplated.

It had only been a month since he came and spent the money he had been saving for a nice apartment in Saint K’s on the Hunter. It had been heavily modified from the start, down to the point that it was barely recognizable as a Wolfen. The only things that were similar were the shape of the main body and the weapons pods mounted to each side. But even then, they were sleeker, more angular, than the originals.

He sighed. He left his girlfriend, his family, everything just to go on what seemed to be a wild chase through the stars to Domina-knows-where. He downed the last of his vodka and went off to Bay 12. The Hunter sat there like a predator resting after a good meal, technicians and engineers gawked at the dark gray hull and deadly lines. He climbed in and tapped a few controls. The ladder retracted, the hatch sealed and his harness secured him to the acceleration seat.

He flipped a plastic cover and brought a fist down on the button marked MN STRT. A hum of power coursed through the craft’s hull, building up as Helium-3 collected in the fusion chamber. Warning lights flashed outside as techies and crew dogs scrambled for the safe zones. The grav plate deactivated. Garrett turned the mag-locks off and the Hunter’s skids left the deck. The gunship pointed her nose at the main doors as the bay decompressed. The doors opened and Garrett gently pushed the throttle forward. The Hunter eased out of the bay. He aimed the direction pointer at the Centauri base he mapped out earlier, and jammed the throttles to maximum.

The Hunter blazed into deep space, leaving a long trail of plasma in her wake.

Last edited by BienM on Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

I like it BienM -- it shows promise with a good solid, dark character - a different twist on the Transcendence character. There is only one small problem:

finding a targeting software ROM, he was wasting enough Stilettos as it was

A KM500 Stiletto Missile is a Tracking Missile and does not require a Targeting ROM to operate. I don't know whether you have done this deliberately or as an honest mistake. KM100's are called Longbows.

Somewhere far away, the CSC Europa was preparing for battle. Flights of Centurion and Brittania gunships wheeled around their parent ship, even more ships launching from the four stubby arms that gave CSCs their unique appearance.

“This is Checkmate Lead to Europa Actual, we are in Beta Formation and awaiting launch of Rook and Knight. Over.”

“Copy that Checkmate Lead. We are launching Rook and Knight after Bishop. Over. Out.”

“Any longer and we’ll be caught with our pants down by the Reds.” Checkmate Lead, or Sarah Kensington as she was known to her friends and acquaintances sighed.

Sarah’s navigator agreed as he checked the sensors display, a little triangle made of little red dots was already moving in from the edge of the screen. The screen flashed a label over the formation: ALPHA.

“Pawn flight move to intercept ALPHA. Checkmate, you are free to engage. Over.”

“I just had to open my mouth.” Sarah whispered. “Checkmate, break formation and attack!”

The Centurion/x charged forward as its powerful drives spewed high pressure plasma out of the exhaust manifolds. The targeting computer locked onto ALPHA-1 and displayed a rendering of a Sandstorm gunship. Ion bolts seared into the shields, making them flare dangerously.

“Weapons free! Weapons free!”

Sarah depressed the firing stud on her control stick, spewing shuriken blasts at the nearest ship. Pawn flight began its attack from the rear, pinning the Ares ships. But then, ALPHA was just bait. Two flights of Tundra heavy gunships emerged from the nebula. Sarah let off a curse.